Big 12 men's basketball quarterfinal recap

The quarterfinal round of the Big 12 Championships definitely didn’t disappoint on Thursday.

The first three games were decided by an average of six points beforeTexassoundly defeatedWest Virginiain the final game of the day.

KansasStatevs.IowaStateset the tone as the game went down to the wire.

Big 12 Player of the Year Melvin Ejim finished with 24 points and 10 boards for ISU.

With 4:13 left in the game and the Cyclones up by two, Iowa State point guard DeAndre Kane received his fifth foul.

All seemed lost at that point for ISU until Naz Long, who was affectionately called “Three-sus” by the crazed Cyclone fans sitting behind me, scored six ofIowaState’s last eight points to seal the win overKansasState.

Marcus Foster and Shane Southwell shot well for the Wildcats, finishing with 21 and 19 points respectively, but when you try to outscoreIowaState, it’s not going to happen.

No. 4IowaState91, No. 5KansasState85

KansasandOklahomaStatefollowed that game up with a stellar overtime performance.

Andrew Wiggins followed up his 41 point game atWest Virginiaon Saturday with 30 this afternoon against the Cowboys.

With 6:58 left in the second half and Oklahoma State down by eight, Markel Brown sank a jumper, and Phil Forte stole the KU inbounds pass from Wiggins, stepped back behind the three-point line and swished the shot.

Marcus Smart stole the basketball on the next possession and made the layup.

OklahomaState’s 7-0 run in 26 seconds cut the Jayhawk lead to one.

There wasn’t much separation between the two teams from then on until the overtime period when it looked like the Cowboys ran out of gas.

That could be related to the fact that OSU faced Texas Tech yesterday while allKansasdid was practice.

For those that question the depth of the Big 12 – this was a No. 1 seed vs. a No. 8 seed.

No. 1Kansas77, No. 8OklahomaState70 (OT)

Baylor came out with perhaps its finest first half performance all season, dominating the glass and the paint.

At the end of the first half, every starter for BU had a three-pointer made, an assist and at least seven points.

Isaiah Austin had a big game for the Bears with 18 points and five blocks.

After trailing by 21 with 17:03 left to play,Oklahomastarted crashing the glass and hit seven treys to cut the Baylor lead to four with 1:30 left.

The Bears would finish the game 6-of-8 from the free throw line to beat the Sooners for the first time this season.

Baylor has won nine of its last 10 games, thanks to better defense and better ball movement.

No. 7 Baylor 78, No. 2Oklahoma73

West Virginiacouldn’t hit the broad side of a barn in an unexpected turn after its 92-86 victory overKansason Saturday.

The Mountaineers ended the first half with their lowest total of the season, 14, on 18.2 percent shooting from the field.

The usual double-digit scorers forWest Virginia, Juwan Staten, Terry Henderson and Eron Harris, were held to four, eight and three points respectively.

Texas, however, was on point and looked fresh after receiving two days off this week.